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The Trial (Duruşma)

The Trial (Duruşma) (translated)

Movie · 1999 · 16 people

The Turkish comedy Duruşma (The Trial) opened on December 31, 1999. Yalçın Yelence directed, and Umur Bugay, who wrote the screenplay, also produced it through his company Bugay Film.

The story takes place in one of Istanbul's old, modest neighborhoods. Nazan, the local beauty, has been married twice and somehow remained a virgin. Meltem Cumbul plays Nazan. Selami and Cavit, the quarter's tough lads, are played by Zafer Algöz and Güven Kıraç, and they fight bitterly over her. Nazan's mother Necla (Güzin Çorağan) pulls strings of her own. The neighbors watch in curiosity and astonishment as the simple life of the street is suddenly thrust into the media spotlight. In the courtroom scenes Rutkay Aziz plays the lawyer Rafet, with Nazlı Tosunoğlu, Levend Yılmaz, Ercan Yazgan and Meral Çetinkaya also in the cast.

Melih Kibar composed the music and Güngör Toydemir shot the film. Viewers are divided about it: some praise a tragicomedy that holds attention thanks to a strong cast, while others find it far better than its low score and the copycat Turkish comedies of the time.

DirectorYalçın Yelence
Production companyBugay Film
The Trial (Duruşma) The Trial (Duruşma)

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Through different eyes

AI-assisted editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives. They are not reader reviews; those are below.

Yeşilçam Nostalgic A viewer raised on the classics, looking for warm storytelling and strong acting.

Duruşma summons the warmth of our old comedies with Melih Kibar's music, Umur Bugay's pen and a modest Istanbul neighborhood. Meltem Cumbul, Zafer Algöz and Güven Kıraç build a familiar cheer around the local beauty and the two young men fighting over her, while Rutkay Aziz's lawyer lends the courtroom scenes a dignified color. The neighbors watching it all with curiosity recall the neighborhood portraits of the old films. A premise built on virginity, and the noise that comes once neighborhood life is thrown open to the media, sometimes trade that old delicacy for cruder humor; the heart-warming moments are in Rutkay Aziz's dignified lawyer and the curious neighbors.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humor and heart.

Duruşma is a neighborhood comedy, but its subject calls for care when watching with family. The story revolves around the virginity of a young woman who has been married twice, which may prompt questions that are hard to explain to small children. Selami and Cavit's rivalry is fierce but played for comedy. Teenagers and adults can laugh at its tragicomic tone, and grandparents may enjoy the familiar neighborhood life. Better saved for after the little ones are in bed.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Duruşma is a performer-driven comedy bearing the stamp of writer-producer Umur Bugay. Yalçın Yelence's direction seems to favor giving the actors room over showy formal choices, and Güngör Toydemir's photography follows that plain line. The cast is the real asset: Zafer Algöz and Güven Kıraç as the rival young men and Meltem Cumbul as Nazan keep a thin premise standing. The problem is that the premise itself is not sturdy enough to carry a feature. The idea of neighborhood life suddenly drawing media attention opens a door to satire, but the script never quite walks through it. That is why viewers are split: some praise its tragicomic flavor, others how it stands apart from copycat Turkish comedies.

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